CUGE to be Integrated onto Three Falcon EPICUREs
As reported by MONS on 28 February (see here), France’s new strategic intelligence aircraft will incorporate Thales’s Capacité Universelle de Guerre Electronique (CUGE – Universal Electronic Warfare Capability).
In a release on 2 March, Thales welcomes the Ministry of the Armed Forces’ decision to contract the company to integrate CUGE on board three Falcon EPICURE aircraft, intended to replace the C-160G GABRIELs from about the middle of the decade. The company believes the programme “will strengthen electronic intelligence capabilities and thereby help the French Armed Forces to perform their strategic information-gathering functions to better anticipate eventualities.”
With expertise in four key digital technologies – platform connectivity, ‘big data,’ artificial intelligence and cybersecurity – Thales has a central role to play in development, the company feels. “The growing importance of digital technologies offers the company a tremendous opportunity [….] to boost its capacity for innovation through advanced systems that leverage the power of big data, autonomous systems and immersive user experiences.” This broad expertise underpins the Thales ability to develop and supply the next-generation sensors that will enable CUGE to intercept radio and radar signals simultaneously.
TM